A new experimental nanoscale treatment has been developed by researchers that will pave the way for better management of acute lung injury (ALI) which is commonly brought about by serious infections We are referring to the new strategy published in Science Advances which has opened new considerations for patients suffering from this debilitating disease.
Acute lung injury is defined as a serious condition usually induced by inflammation within the lung sections that adjoin or are contiguous with a thin barrier, making the act of breathing difficult. Most of the time it is caused by bacterial infections and may rapidly progress to respiratory failure. Treatment is however poor or non-existent, whole classes of doctors practice with very few alternatives to intervention even in end stages of illness.
These are SPRAY nanoparticles, self assembled peptide anti-inflammatory therapeutics in a nice acronym. These tiny antomomin like (ANTOM) peptides developed at the Westlake University in China but they can pack a punch when it comes to therapeutics:
- They selectively and safely remove inflammatory tissue from the lungs by relocalizing inflammatory cells into healing salve cells taking care of an inflammatory response in the lung tissues.
- These nanoparticles kill the antibiotic-resistant bacteria, one of the main problems surrounding lung infections.
- They stimulate reconstruction and healing processes in the lungs.
“It is a significant aspect of this type therapy that we employ a rather different angle,” holds Dr. Huaimin Wang, the head of the research. “We do not just work to eliminate the effects – we make sure that the causes of lung injury are treated and the injured lung heals.”
In the case, the researchers applied their nanoparticle therapy to mice with ALI due to a bacterial infection. The results were spectacular:
- Lung inflammation was reduced enormously
- Dangerous bacteria were removed successfully
- Lung tissues were seen to be recovering and regenerating
- Out of the 73% of treated mice which survived, only 20% from the control group did the same
Perhaps the most thrilling is the prestation of the usefulness of the antibiotics in the nanoparticles. Most of the traditional antibiotics take days to receive treatment, but a significant improvement from the spray nanoparticles was seen within just twenty-four hours.
“Time is very important in cases of acute lung injury treatment,” explains Dr. Wang. “Time is of essence and our nanoparticles may help buy the time something that is very precious to a patient who is critically ill.”
The researchers were also able to show that their nanoparticle treatment was safe and no toxicity was metastatic to healthy lung tissue or other organs.
Although these results are promising, it should be mentioned that this research is in its infancy. It will be important to safely carry human clinical trials to test the feasibility of this approach. But the potential is enormous.
“This would change the way in which you not only manage acute lung injury but may be other inflammatory lung diseases if this therapy is successful in human subjects,” Dr. Wang says. “We are guardedly optimistic about the prospects.”
The next steps for the research team involve optimizing the design of nanoparticles and taking the first steps towards the clinical trial. Although there is still a long way to go, this new approach gives hope to doctors and patients who are fighting this deadly disease.
As antibiotic-resistant infections become more difficult to treat, solutions such as these nanoparticles will become more critical to the management of critically ill patients. It’s a stark reminder of how advanced nanotechnology would transform medicine in the future.